CPI goes down slightly in July

The General Statistics Office reported that the CPI of Vietnam fell slightly by 0.09% in July. The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 4.46% and was up 2.13% against December 2017. The CPI decrease in July was attributed to reductions in the prices of rice, and oil and gas. In the first seven months of this year, the index inched up 3.45 percent year on year. Among 11 main commodity and service groups, eight reported monthly growth in prices. The goods and services recorded the highest hike at 0.56 percent. Price decreases were seen in three groups, including medicines and health care services (5.85 percent). Basic inflation (CPI exclusive of fresh food, energy, and State-controlled services) rose by 0.15 percent monthly and 1.41 percent annually in July.-VNA